Cleo Review: the Lily

Okay, let me start off with something: when I like a bra, I will get as many colors as I can find. And I won’t even like all the colors, either, but I’ll like the shape and cut of the bra so much that the colors become secondary. I’ve had this experience with two bras in particular—the first two that were, what I thought, a perfect fit.

The Lily and the Marcie. Marcie’s getting her own post, not to worry.

I have two Lily’s, now, and both are a 30F. I have a light blue with candy-pink trim one and the navy-blue parrot print one. Both are not colors I actually like. In fact, I rarely like any prints or colors that Cleo comes out with. I find them visually appalling as a person who prefers wearing grey and black every day. Less distracting, really. I would pay a good chunk of money for a plain black or grey Lily (can you imagine? Ahhhhh), but Cleo does not seem likely to do that for me. I suspect that Cleo’s designers grew up in a Limited Too store and do not truly know that other colors exist.

These are bras that I think are GREAT for projected girls. For shallow sets, I do not imagine the same success rates. There is a good chunk of cup to fill in one concentrated spot, whereas the Claudette Dessous has overall more room, though less depth—better for shallow ladies, that one. Anyway, yes, I love the Marcie and the Lily. I wish they were all neutral colors, but I’ve come to accept them because they basically work.

Let’s view the Lily.

Front view. I don’t particularly like parrots…

Minimizing but brings things upwards.

The Lily is typically good for projected girls with even fullness. This is partially why the Lily works on me—I am very projected, and my breasts often “behave” like they’re even. But they’re liars. They are toppers. For this reason, I get an in-cup quad on the top—not noticeable under clothes at all for me, but it’s still there. At the same time, there is not enough immediate projection, and my angry boobies push the underwire downward.

Candy blue and pink. See where my fingers are? That’s where my IMF actually is. The wire don’t sit there AT ALL 😥

At the side. You can see in-cup quadding and, again, where my IMF actually is.

So the underwire is basically always on my ribs and not the IMF fold. Why are my girls so projected? What treasures do they store that make them behave so rudely to Lily’s perfectly nice underwires?

Let’s set up a system of rating.

Appearance of bra itself (6/10)—tends to be a “loud” bra, but not as “loud” as others (cough Cleo Maya cough). The colors and prints are definitely not my taste at all. I can live with them, but they often feel like a costume. Like, hello world, today I am parrot girl! Still, it is constructed well, and I know it suits someone’s tastes in that way.

Appearance of bra on my body (9/10)—minimizing with major uplift. This makes my girls look outwardly smaller, but lifts them up a lot. I love the way my set looks with this bra. It’s interesting to see how just one undergarment can change the appearance of an outfit. I love this shape!

Comfort of…

Straps (10/10)—not overly stretchy or long. Nothing to complain about there.

Band (6/10)—stretches out pretty quickly for me. Wahhh.

Gore (7/10)—does not frequently hurt me, is not too high, though is an itty bitty touch too wide.

Underwire (5/10)—does not sit where it should because my breasts force them down, which causes pain if I wear this on a long day.

Cups (7/10)—this kills me because I love this bra, but my soft boobies push everything out and give me an in-cup quad that is not apparent under clothes, but I notice it!! By God I do!! As well as this, the cups extend a little too much at my armpits, but they don’t particularly bother me. Luckily, the Lily is relatively “low” cut, so it should be somewhat comfortable for other little ladies.

Overall rating, then? Lily gets…

72% – a C!

I still love you, Lily, but I wish you were grey and black.